


right here, right now - a seblos oneshot <3

by musicaltheatrewannabe



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Established boyfriends, M/M, Short Circuiting Carlos, my bois being adorable, seb has collector's editions dvds of hsm, theatre husbands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:35:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22187206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicaltheatrewannabe/pseuds/musicaltheatrewannabe
Summary: an unexpectedly long fic in which seb finds out that carlos hasnt seen hsm 2 and 3 and decides that he needs to fix it - feat all of their reactions to different scenes from the movies and overall cuteness!
Relationships: Seb Matthew-Smith/Carlos Rodriguez
Comments: 20
Kudos: 60





	right here, right now - a seblos oneshot <3

“So how are you and Ricky just together again all of a sudden?” Carlos asked. He and all of the other theatre kids were at the cast party and he, along with Seb, had cornered Nini to get caught up on what was going on between their Gabriella and Troy.

“It all sort of made sense again. We just realized that we should stop dwelling on mistakes from the past and live in the moment,” Nini said, “right here, right now, you know?” She laughed and Seb pointed at her as if to say, ‘nice one!’ Carlos just glanced between the two of them in confusion, nodding slowly.

Seb turned to Carlos and raised his eyebrows at him. “Troy and Gabriella?” he suggested. Carlos still didn’t see the connection.

“Treehouse?” Nini supplied, giving Carlos the same questioning look. He was even more confused.

“High School Musical 3?” Seb finally spelled it out for Carlos, who just nodded as if it suddenly all made sense.

Carlos went red and bit his lip, admitting, “Ok guys, don’t kill me but… I haven’t actually seen High School Musical 3 in its entirety.” Seb and Nini’s jaws dropped, and they looked at each other and then back at Carlos. “Or 2, for that matter,” Carlos added, avoiding the eyes of his appalled friend and boyfriend.

“Carlos, are you kidding right now?” Nini asked.

“I mean, I’ve seen lots of clips!” Carlos offered in defense, but she and Seb wouldn’t accept it.

“Babe, how on earth did Miss Jenn let you choreograph the show if you hadn’t fully experienced the franchise?” Seb asked, as if these were clearly mutually exclusive circumstances.

Carlos frowned and responded, “well, I have seen Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure!”

Seb rolled his eyes and smiled reluctantly. “Ok, so I guess you’re forgiven a little bit there-“

Nini, who was not so lenient, interrupted and pointed out, “no, but minus points for ignoring the chronology!”

Seb pointed at and turned to Nini, adding, “oh, good point. Ok, we need to fix this right away, Carlos.”

Carlos laughed and nodded in defeat. “Ok, ok, we can watch them together tomorrow night if you’re both free?”

Seb grinned and Carlos was relieved to see him happy again. “Works for me! I can bring over my collector’s edition DVDs,” he did a little happy dance that made Carlos want to cuddle him right then and there.

“Sorry guys, I’m gonna be hanging out with Ricky tomorrow night,” Nini said, a smile creeping onto her lips. “It’ll be our second first date I guess,” she chuckled.

“Exciting! I’m so happy for you guys,” Carlos said. “I guess this means I’ll have to hang out with just Sebby, ugh,” Carlos rolled his eyes, earning a playful slap from his boyfriend.

“Don’t worry, I’ll educate him well,” Seb smirked and Carlos blushed.

Nini raised her eyebrows at the two of them. “Ok, well that’s sorted out then,” she said, and they all went back to the cast party.

.

Carlos jumped up from the couch when he heard the doorbell ring, yelling “I’ll get it!” His mom was cleaning up in the kitchen, about to go out to meet his dad at a nice restaurant for their anniversary.

When Carlos swung the door open Seb was standing there in his East High sweatshirt with a grin on his face. “Hey,” he said, giving Carlos a peck on his way in.

“I see you came dressed for the occasion,” Carlos remarked as they walked through the hallway to the living room.

“I was gonna wear my classic HSM t-shirt but unfortunately it doesn’t fit me anymore - I guess I’ve grown a bit since 2008,” he laughed. “I had to settle for this,” he gestured to his sweatshirt as he dropped his backpack onto the floor next to the couch.

“Well, even a plain old sweatshirt looks perfect on you, so who am I to argue?” Carlos took a step closer to Seb and leaned in to give him a quick, soft kiss. This was his favorite thing about dating Seb - how casual they could be with their affection while still keeping it completely genuine. The better they got to know each other, the more natural it felt to trade little kisses, hold hands and just exist together.

“Oh hey, you said I could stay over, right?” Seb asked, gesturing to his backpack on the floor.

Carlos was about to answer when his mom walked into the living room in a nice black dress, and said, “hi Seb!”

“Happy anniversary Mrs. Rodriguez!” Seb smiled politely, before adding, “you look great!”

She laughed and Carlos rolled his eyes. “Why thank you,” she said with a little spin, “see mijo? Your boyfriend gives me compliments, you could learn a couple of things from him.”

“That’s what I keep saying,” Seb laughed and furrowed his brow, “well not about compliments exactly…”

Carlos looked offended. “I compliment you,” he said to his mom, “you just didn’t give me a chance. You look really nice,” he smiled, and his mom laughed in return.

“Thanks, I should get going though if I’m gonna get to the restaurant in time,” she put her phone in her purse.

“Oh, before you go,” Carlos began, and his mom looked back up expectantly. “You said it’s fine if Seb stays over tonight, right?” he asked hopefully.

She glanced between the two of them for a moment and then said, “yes, yes, I did.” She raised her eyebrows in warning at Carlos and added, “but don’t make me regret trusting you two in this house alone until we get back!”

Carlos blushed and nodded, “don’t worry, we’re just gonna be watching High School Musical.”

Seb pulled out his DVDs proudly as proof and added, “collector’s editions!”

Mrs. Rodriguez laughed and said, “ok, we’ll be back by midnight.”

“Have fun tonight!” Seb said and Carlos smiled at his boyfriend being a sweetheart around his mom. This shouldn’t have been of any notice though, since he was always a sweetheart.

“Thanks,” Carlos’ mom said with a wave as she made her way to the hallway and left.

Once they heard the door lock, Carlos said matter-of-factly, “ok, I’ll go make the popcorn, and you set up the DVD.”

Seb nodded and picked up the TV remote as Carlos headed to the kitchen. He got out a big bowl and returned with it full of popcorn after a few minutes to join Seb on the couch. He picked up the blanket that was draped over the other edge of the couch and spread it over the two of them, cuddling into Seb.

Seb pointed the remote at the TV and asked, “ready?”

Carlos nodded up at his boyfriend with a smile. He was excited to finally watch these two movies, but he was also just happy to be with Seb. He watched his face light up as ‘What Time Is It?’ started playing and then turned back to the screen.

Once the iconic country club pool appeared on screen, Carlos knew that the one number he really knew from this movie was about to begin. ‘Fabulous’ started and Seb couldn’t help but sing along under his breath. The grin on Carlos’ face grew even wider and he glanced up at Seb, nudging him and saying, “sing louder!”

Carlos laughed and sat up to watch as Seb started to sing along at full volume, imitating all of Sharpay’s movements and facial expressions. Carlos sang Ryan’s parts and harmonized with Seb, who took the second verse as a cue to stand up on the couch. It quickly became a full-on performance when Carlos stood up to join Seb at Ryan’s chorus, both of them belting their hearts out in character. The only time Carlos broke character was when, during the bridge, he pointed at the screen and laughed, “his pants!” He had never noticed that Ryan was wearing full-length pants in the pool and the sheer absurdity of it all suddenly registered. They carried on singing to each other through the rest of the song, and Seb even gave Carlos a look to signal that he would do Sharpay’s fall into the pool. Carlos held out his arms to catch Seb but lost his balance, and they ended up falling back down onto the couch together in a fit of laughter. After their laughter subsided, Seb leaned down as if to kiss Carlos, getting painfully close, but then pulled away and sat up nonchalantly, focusing his attention back on the movie.

“Hey!” Carlos pouted, sitting up reluctantly. Seb shot him a sidelong glance and smirked as he picked up the bowl and ate some popcorn.

Carlos realized that two could play at this game, so when Troy appeared on screen again for ‘Work This Out,’ Carlos started fawning over him. “Wow, if I had known how much gorgeous Zac Efron I was missing out on, I would’ve watched this movie years ago.” He glanced over to see the smirk disappearing from Seb’s face, which was still fixed on the screen, and knew that it was working. “Like, damn, he can even rock a kitchen uniform!” Carlos leaned forward towards the screen and rested his chin in his hand. “Don’t even get me started about his eyes, they’re just soo blue...” he trailed off, biting his lip and resisting the temptation to look at Seb.

Finally Seb snapped and gave into Carlos’ teasing. “It’s just because of the color filter in this movie! Even Gabriella’s hair looks blue!”

Carlos laughed at his boyfriend and turned to look at him. “You jealous?” he taunted.

“No,” Seb huffed, turning back to the screen. Carlos raised his eyebrows doubtfully, and Seb reluctantly met his gaze. “Ok, you win. But what about my eyes? They’re blue too…”

Carlos rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around Seb’s neck. “I know,” he said, “I love your eyes.” Seb blushed and shifted his weight so he could face Carlos. Carlos leaned in to whisper in his boyfriend’s ear, “and don’t tell Zac, but you don’t even need the color filter to make my knees go weak.” He kissed the corner of Seb’s jaw right underneath his ear and started to pull away, but the other boy would not have it. Seb pulled Carlos’ face to his and kissed him, reveling in the surprised squeal that he let out. Carlos’ arms instinctively tightened around Seb’s neck as he kissed him back, a shiver running up his spine at the sensation.

Seb finally pulled away, Carlos’ lips chasing his through the air, when they heard the first notes of ‘You are the Music in Me’. He kept one arm on the couch behind Carlos and started running his fingers through his hair absentmindedly, which made Carlos short-circuit. He laced his fingers with Seb’s and turned back to the screen.

A few scenes later, Sharpay started singing ‘Humuhumunukunukuapua’a’ and Carlos’ couldn’t contain his laughter. “I knew this song was absurd but I always assumed there was some kind of contextual justification that I didn’t understand, but I guess not…” he said.

Seb laughed and shook his head. “Nope, this never has and never will make any sense, and that’s what makes it so iconic,” he said matter-of-factly.

Carlos nodded at Seb. “I will say,” he replied without taking his eyes off of the screen, “perhaps the greatest tragedy of our generation is that you didn’t get to do a rendition of this song in our musical.”

“Honestly, you’re right, this set would’ve been hilarious,” Seb smiled.

Carlos started singing along at the chorus and turned to Seb with a grin. “Humuhumunukunukuapua’a,” he sang, poking Seb in the side to the rhythm of the syllables.

Seb let out a shriek of giggles and recoiled into his corner of the couch, exclaiming, “stop, that tickles!”

Carlos stopped and smirked, “ooh, I didn’t know you were ticklish - note to self, this is useful information…” Seb shot him a glare that said ‘don’t you dare’ and Carlos laughed, patting his thigh so that he would relax again.

They continued watching in comfortable silence until the baseball field appeared on the screen and Seb sat bolt upright, wide-eyed and tapping Carlos frantically. “It’s happening, it’s happening!” he grinned, and Carlos smiled in confused amusement at his boyfriend.

“It’s ‘I Don’t Dance,’ right?” Carlos asked, vaguely recalling having studied this song’s dance break as choreography inspiration.

“Oh, if you mean the song where Disney says ‘gay rights,’ then yes,” Seb nodded. Carlos cocked his head at him and Seb chuckled. “Just you wait, there’s so much sexual tension…” he sighed, leaning back on the couch.

As the song started, Carlos took notice of every homoerotic innuendo and couldn’t believe that he never had before. He kept turning to Seb in disbelief, and his boyfriend just nodded in agreement every time. When they got through the second verse, Carlos asked incredulously, “‘I’ll show you how I swing?’”

“I know right,” Seb chuckled, keeping his eyes focused on the screen.

Carlos’ eyes widened as the first dance break ended and Chad and Ryan sang together face to face. He was speechless throughout the rest of the number, and when it was over he looked at Seb and said, “Oh my God, they really did that.”

Seb grinned and nudged his boyfriend’s shoulder, “I told you it was even better in context!” Carlos laughed and looked at Seb, who frantically pointed at the screen again. “Look, look, look at their outfits!”

Carlos glanced at the screen and his jaw dropped, before he said, “this is so gay, I’m living for it.”

Seb giggled and they watched the rest of the movie, Carlos chewing on the popcorn kernels that were left in the bowl. At some point Seb had leaned his head on Carlos’ shoulder, and when Troy and Gabriella finally kissed, he turned his head to look up at him. “Satisfying, isn’t it?” Seb breathed out softly, but Carlos only furrowed his eyebrows at the screen.

“Don’t they know how much of a fire hazard that is?!” he exclaimed at the characters letting go of their paper lanterns. “Think of the birds!”

Seb nuzzled his face into Carlos’ neck and put his hand on his thigh, murmuring, “shut up, Carlos, it’s romantic…”

Carlos tried to ignore the kisses his boyfriend was peppering all over his neck and cheek and retorted, “aren’t you concerned about these endangered animals, farmboy?”

Seb pulled away from Carlos and sighed, finally getting him to meet his eyes. “If I promise never to send off a paper lantern, will you give me attention?” he pouted.

Carlos giggled and said, “fine…” crashing his lips to Seb’s and pushing him down onto the couch as ‘All For One’ started to play. Seb wrapped one arm around Carlos’ back and his free hand shot up to the back of his neck. Carlos let his hands roam over Seb’s sweatshirt from his shoulders down his chest, feeling electricity in his fingertips. He let out a gasp when Seb lightly tugged on the short hair at the back of his head, feeling the blonde boy smile in response on his lips. Carlos lost himself in the kiss, vaguely aware of the upbeat pool party song ending and the sound of the credits beginning on the TV, but he was much more focused on the feeling of his body on his boyfriend. He felt Seb’s hand run through his hair and he thought he would melt into him. They didn’t pull apart until they eventually realized that the credits were over and they were just hearing the vaguely Hawaiian-sounding menu screen on repeat.

Carlos pushed himself back up to sit on the couch and Seb followed suit groggily before getting up to swap the DVDs. “Did I miss anything important in that last song? Apart from the unexplained Miley Cyrus cameo?” Carlos asked, his hand automatically adjusting his glasses.

Seb grinned from in front of the TV. “Nope, that’s about it,” he chuckled as he ejected the disc.

Carlos smiled, his face still red, and suddenly asked, “do you want more popcorn?”

“Sure, thanks,” Seb smiled.

As Carlos waited for the popcorn to pop, he washed his hands, unable to shake the grin off his face. It didn’t matter how long he and Seb had been together, the effect the farmboy had on him never subsided. He loved to see Seb in his element like this with High School Musical, and he was glad he was seeing these sequels for the first time with him. He walked back out to the living room with the popcorn bowl full again and handed it to Seb, plopping down next to him and planting a kiss on his cheek, just to hear him giggle. “Let’s go,” he said, pressing play on the remote and tossing it onto the blanket that had long since fallen to the floor.

Carlos was greeted by the opening high-quality close-up shot of Zac Efron’s face and raised his eyebrows. “Wow, they really did up the budget on this one,” he remarked.

“Just wait until ‘I Want It All,’” Seb said as he tossed some popcorn into his mouth and chewed earnestly.

When Gabriella stood up to sing “Troooooy!” Carlos died of laughter and Seb smacked his arm playfully.

“Hey, it’s dramatic!” he protested, but couldn’t help but let out a giggle at how ridiculous the scene really was.

“Yeah, ok,” Carlos nodded with enthusiastic sarcasm.

A few minutes later, Troy and Gabriella started singing ‘Right Here, Right Now,’ and Seb looked expectantly at Carlos. “So now you get the reference?” he raised his eyebrows to confirm the obvious.

“Uh huh, treehouse, I see,” Carlos smiled and nodded, looking between his boyfriend and the screen. “Man that’s a cool treehouse…” he trailed off as the roof opened up to reveal the stars in the romantic scene.

“Yeah, when I saw this for the first time I begged my dad to build me one just like it, but it’s pretty small, since I was like five,” Seb laughed.

Carlos snapped his head around to look at his boyfriend and said, “Seb, you did not just tell me you have a treehouse that I have yet to see.”

“I mean, the ceiling is so low that I haven’t been up in it for years,” Seb explained, but Carlos wouldn’t let it go.

“Ok, well, the next time I come over you have to show me this treehouse,” Carlos chewed a handful of popcorn, “sorry, I don’t make the rules.”

Seb laughed and soon enough, Ryan and Sharpay were in the cafeteria, about to sing ‘I Want It All.’ When the song started, he didn’t even realize he was muttering both parts of the duet perfectly from memory. Carlos stared at the screen in awe when the second verse started and the sets began to change. He had never seen the scene before and felt immediate shame and wonder when he saw how incredible it was. Seb glanced between Carlos’ face and the screen, grinning as if to say ‘you’re welcome.’

Carlos gasped when Gabriella turned around and said “it’s Oprah calling - again…” He giggled and said, “wow, I never knew I could feel so represented by Vanessa Hudgens in a maid outfit, but here we are.”

Seb smiled at his boyfriend and kept his eyes on him to watch his reaction to the Fosse-style dance sequence. Carlos was entranced as the figures on screen slowly raised their hands, palms-forward. Seb could tell that he was living his best choreographer life as the formations changed shape seamlessly and silhouettes came in and out of focus. When Ryan and Sharpay returned to the cafeteria balcony, he pointed out their names on the screen and said, “look at the size difference!” He cackled and Carlos laughed as well, since he hadn’t noticed it.

“I have no words,” Carlos said when the song ended, and Seb’s grin grew even wider.

“Oo, an upgrade, I see!” Carlos gestured at the screen when, a few minutes later, Troy and Gabriella were on the rooftop garden that had been expanded significantly since the first movie.

‘Can I Have This Dance’ began and Seb subconsciously held Carlos’ hand. Carlos glanced down at their hands, squeezing Seb’s before standing at the chorus and pulling him up with him. He wrapped his free arm around Seb’s back and the other boy mimicked his action, smiling at the him. Carlos led Seb around the living room in a waltz, quickly falling into the rhythm of the song. They both laughed as they bumped into the couch and the corners of the coffee table, but continued their dance, Carlos spinning Seb around to match the scene in the movie. He hopped onto the couch, still holding Seb’s hand, and mirrored the blonde boy’s steps as he was led to the other side. Seb put one arm around Carlos’ back and the other under his legs, carrying him off the couch not quite as gracefully as Troy did to Gabriella, but without falling nonetheless. Carlos laughed and grabbed onto his neck for dear life, letting out a breath of relief when Seb was able to withstand his weight. The song came to an end and they stared into each other’s eyes, both leaning in like Troy and Gabriella and holding back giggles. Seb suddenly let go of Carlos and held up his hands in an exaggerated shrug, saying “oh no, it’s raining!” and Carlos threw his head back in laughter.

The boys sat back down, this time with Carlos leaning back against Seb, who had his arm draped lazily around his boyfriend. They were both pretty tired from the dancing but happily watched as the entire cast appeared for ‘A Night to Remember.’ When Kelsi walked out into the amazed crowd, Seb clapped like the rest of the characters. “Kelsi finally getting the recognition she deserves, wow.” Carlos chuckled and agreed.

When Kelsi and Ryan started talking before ‘Just Wanna Be With You,’ Carlos was suddenly alert and sat upright. “Ok, did they just forget about Ryan and Chad in the last movie?” he asked incredulously, raising a hand in defeat.

“I just like to interpret it as gay and lesbian solidarity, nothing more,” Seb pointed out and Carlos nodded his head in approval.

“You’re right, they would be the best queer Broadway creative duo - that’s an acceptable reason to go to prom together,” Carlos justified.

When Ryan came in on the pre-chorus, Seb turned to Carlos and started dramatically singing along, making the other boy turn instantly red and roll his eyes. He leaned back into Seb again and angled his head up to press a quick kiss to his cheek. In the movie, Chad walked onstage dressed as a clown and Ryan put his arm on his shoulder, which earned a “that’s more like it,” from Carlos.

They sat calmly through most of the movie, until ‘Scream’ began towards the end and an electric guitar rang through the room. “Damn,” Carlos raised his eyebrows, “this song goes hard!” He nodded along to the beat, impressed. Seb followed suit, even adding a bit of air guitar, and Carlos laughed, “oh honey, you can’t pull off hard rock, I’m sorry.”

“Stop laughing at me!” Seb protested. He narrowed his eyes and tried to look really serious to match the song, but Carlos just thought it was cute and giggled.

As the movie came to a close and the cast started singing the graduation version of ‘We’re All In This Together,’ Carlos threaded his fingers through Seb’s again. “This is such a full circle moment, I’m gonna cry,” he said jokingly, but then he turned around to see Seb already wiping away a tear from his eye. “Aw, Sebby,” he chuckled and reached up to wipe away another tear.

Seb laughed and said, “I’m just very nostalgic, ok?”

Carlos smiled and settled his head in the crook of his boyfriend’s neck, reveling in the unique feeling of just existing with him. The movie ended and neither of them moved from their spot except to turn off the TV with the remote. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Carlos sat up again. “Thanks for making me watch these, I finally feel like my childhood is complete,” he grinned.

Seb smiled and said, “well, as your boyfriend, this was my personal obligation, but you’re welcome. It was fun for me to see all of your reactions,” he giggled.

“And it was fun for me to see which bits you really knew by heart,” Carlos replied. “You’re so cute when you get excited about things,” he nudged Seb.

The blonde boy glanced between Carlos’ eyes and lips, putting his hand on his thigh and pressing a kiss to his mouth. Carlos’ eyes drifted shut and he breathed in the other boy, his hand drawing lazy circles on his back. When they pulled apart, Carlos reluctantly stood up from the couch, saying, “we should probably head up if we want to avoid an awkward conversation with my parents about you staying over.”

Seb blushed and nodded, putting his DVD back in its case and picking up his bag as Carlos brought the popcorn bowl to the kitchen. After washing up the bowl, Carlos took Seb’s hand and led him upstairs, both boys unable to hold back their smiles. Maybe High School Musical, both the movies and their production, was over, but they knew that their relationship was just beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> love yall, hsmtmts discord!


End file.
